Celtic Park is the setting for the 2014 William Hill Scottish Cup final on May 17 and BBC One Scotland and Sky Sports will be screening live coverage of the showpiece event of the Scottish football season.
The climax to the season is a Tayside derby which sees Tommy Wright’s St Johnstone take on Jackie McNamara’s Dundee United for the oldest national trophy in the world.
With the National Stadium at Hampden out of action as it prepares for the Commonwealth Games, Celtic Park has been chosen by the Scottish Football Association as the venue for this year’s Scottish showpiece.
Celtic’s home stadium last hosted the final in 1998 when Hearts beat Rangers, which was during the period when the national stadium at Hampden was being rebuilt.
After a strong season in the Premiership, St Johnstone have reached the final for the first time in their 130-year history.
Star striker Stevie May has scored four goals during their cup campaign, including both in their semi-final triumph against Aberdeen.
Dundee United are aiming to lift the oldest trophy in world football for the third time, having last won the cup in 2010.
Manager Jackie McNamara won the competition twice as a Celtic player and is looking to cap his first full season in charge at Tannadice with success at Parkhead.
The Perth side have never reached a Scottish Cup Final in their 130 year history so this is a landmark occasion for them, while the Tangerines have lifted the trophy twice, in 1994 and 2010.
Both sides finished in the top six of the SPFL Premiership and the Saints had the upper hand in their league meetings, winning three of the four.
Meanwhile, Dundee United have a wealth of exciting young talent in their squad who have won plaudits and admirers throughout the season.
On the way to today’s match the McDiarmid Park side defeated Livingston, Forfar and Raith Rovers, and in a dramatic semi-final against Aberdeen they came from behind to win 2-1, with both goals coming from their top goalscorer Stevie May.
In their early rounds the Tannadice side enjoyed victories against top-flight opposition in Kilmarnock, St Mirren and Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
In the semi-final they beat Rangers 3-1 at Ibrox with goals from Armstrong, Mackay-Steven and Ciftci.
Celtic Park will welcome more than 60,000 fans on Scottish Cup Final day and BBC Sport Scotland and Sky Sports will both be screening live coverage of the finale to the Scottish season.
SOTB’s viewing guide to the 2014 Scottish Cup Final below:
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BBC Scotland will have live free-to-air coverage of the 2014 Scottish Cup Final from Celtic Park in a special edition of Sportscene.
The team will be telling the story of how this season’s Scottish Cup unfolded from the first goal last September all the way to Saturday’s final tie.
Rob Maclean introduces coverage on BBC One Scotland with studio guests including former Dundee Utd striker Craig Brewster, ex-St Johnstone midfielder Allan Preston and Michael Stewart.
During the extended build-up starting at 1.15pm, key players from both teams talk about their cup campaigns and aspirations and the BBC team will take a walk down memory lane to tell the Cup history of both clubs.
There will also be all the latest team news and tactical analysis as kick-off approaches at 3.00pm, plus extended post-match reaction as well as the trophy presentation to the victorious team.
Match commentary at Celtic Park will come from Liam McLeod and Steven Thompson.
Further reaction and analysis comes in the Sportscene highlights show later that evening on BBC One Scotland, presented by Jonathan Sutherland, at 10.35pm.
BBC One Scotland is available to view across the UK via Sky channel 951, Virgin 862 and TalkTalk TV 956.
Alternatively, fans can also watch BBC Scotland’s coverage live online via the BBC Sport website and app on selected devices.
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Sky Sports will also broadcast live coverage of the 2014 Scottish Cup Final from Celtic Park.
David Tanner introduces coverage from the home of Celtic FC with the transmission on Sky Sports 3 beginning half-an-hour before kick-off at 2.30pm.
Expert analysis and comment in the studio comes from Scottish football legends John Collins and Neil McCann.
Match commentary will be provided by Ian Crocker and Andy Walker, while Charles Paterson will conduct interviews and pitchside reports.
Sky Sports’ coverage will be available to watch online via Sky Go, plus there will be live text commentaries and reports via the Sky Sports football website.
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